As I mentioned in my most recent news round-up (here), Hog’s Head Brewing has begun supplying a house beer for the Sherlock Holmes pub chain, which includes local Sherlock Holmes, Rose and Crown, and the newly renamed Duggan’s Boundary. Now, normally a house beer is nothing to write home (or onbeer.org) about, but this one is different.

For every pint served, 50 cents will be donated to the Alberta Cancer Foundation for ovarian cancer research. The wife of one of the new owners recently died from cancer. The beer is named in her honour – Colleen’s Amber Ale. (The chain, of course used to be owned by long time Edmonton restauranteur Patrick Delaney, but he retired and sold the business last year). A most worthy cause.

I popped in recently to try a pint, and thought I would offer up my thoughts on the actual beer. It is a soft medium red with a slight haze. The off-white head is a bit thin but forms a consistent blanket. The aroma offers rich caramel, toffee and golden sugar, some mid-level fruitiness and a touch of sharp grain.

Upon sipping, it starts with a creamy caramel and toffee note, the middle sharpens a bit but the finish remains moderately sweet. I get hints of hop and darker grain, but they are very subtle. I get some intense fruitiness of tart berry and rounded generic esters at first, but it ebbs off as the beer moves back. It has a silky mouthfeel that draws out some soft creaminess in the background.

I find this a decent, if somewhat straightforward, red ale. It does its job as a house beer – offering some pleasant flavour in a package that is not overwhelming. The hints of hop character does add some interesting complexity to the overall impression.

There are more interesting beer out there, but it is a house beer after all. It is designed to be widely appreciated. Besides, we want to raise as much money as possible for the Cancer Foundation, don’t we?

Kudos to the new Sherlock Holmes owners for giving beer guys like me a reason to order the house beer.